Permanent Professional Recruitment · Belfast & Northern Ireland
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Why we exist

Belfast has changed. The traditional professional-services base is still here, alongside a Titanic Quarter tech cluster that now employs thousands, one of the UK’s fastest-growing fintech markets, a top-tier cybersecurity cluster, and a Queen’s and Ulster graduate pipeline the rest of the UK envies. Northern Ireland is not a satellite recruitment market anymore. It is a real professional-employer economy that deserves recruitment done properly.

Most agencies that "cover Belfast" treat it as a satellite of London or Dublin. A brief lands, a generalist consultant in another city runs a keyword search, and a stack of CVs arrives on the hiring manager’s desk. Half of the candidates have never worked in Northern Ireland. The chartered accountant missing the ACA has been pitched as ACA-track. The Titanic Quarter engineer being pitched has actually only ever worked in Dublin.

Recruitment Agency Belfast was set up to do the opposite. We are a specialist Belfast and Northern Ireland recruitment desk. Twelve sectors, each with its own consultant. Every candidate we introduce has been screened against the actual credential, sector experience and package bar you set on the intake call, in the context of the NI employer market.

What we do, plainly

We place permanent professional hires for Northern Ireland employers. Finance and accountancy, legal, HR and people, sales and business development, marketing and communications, IT and digital, fintech, cybersecurity, engineering and manufacturing, life sciences, professional services, executive search. From qualified professional through director-level appointment. One consultant accountable end to end, from the intake call through onboarding follow-up.

How we vet

Every candidate on a Recruitment Agency Belfast shortlist has been assessed against the same standard before an introduction:

  • Professional-body membership verified against the issuing body (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CIPD, SRA, CMI, IET, IChemE, RSC, RPSGB and equivalents)
  • Right-to-work documentation confirmed, including any settled-status position and cross-border NI/ROI considerations
  • Sector experience validated against your operating environment: FTSE-listed, PE-backed, owner-managed, NI-headquartered or GB group subsidiary
  • Current package broken down in GBP: base, bonus, LTIP, pension, benefits, and where relevant NI regional-market comparators
  • Notice period, garden leave and non-compete position on current employment
  • Motivation for the move (crucial in the NI market where personal and professional networks overlap tightly)
  • Reference readiness confirmed before we send the CV

Where the talent comes from

Three overlapping talent pools feed a typical NI brief. The local NI market is the primary source and covers the majority of placements. Cross-border Dublin talent is a growing second source, particularly for fintech and specialist engineering roles where Dublin salary compression is pushing talent to consider a Belfast move. And GB expat talent, particularly Northern Irish professionals who moved to London or Manchester for their first ten years and are now considering a Belfast return for family or lifestyle reasons, is a third source we work actively.

Who we work with

Our clients include Belfast-headquartered employers, GB group subsidiaries with NI operations, PE-backed businesses, owner-managed companies, professional-services firms, Titanic Quarter technology employers, established SMEs and growing scale-ups across every NI county. Hiring managers who want a shortlist that reflects the real Belfast market, not a Dublin or London copy-paste.

Our standards

  • NI-fluent screening. Every consultant understands the Belfast and Northern Ireland employer market.
  • Tell the truth. If a package band is light for the NI market and the role, we say so before we start sourcing.
  • One consultant, end to end. Same person from intake through onboarding follow-up.
  • Discretion by default. The Belfast market is small. Every approach is confidential. Every brief is confidential until you say otherwise.
  • Stand behind the work. Written replacement guarantee on every placement. No clawback games.

Want to talk?

Use the contact form and we will come back within one business day. We are available Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm.

Ready to hire

A Belfast search worth doing properly?

One consultant, a written brief, a ranked shortlist on a published timeline.

Submit a Vacancy